Episode Of Blonde

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I spy for the "Spirit of Curiosity"
All the scandals of each vain monstrosity
I gossip and I pry and I insinuate
If the failure is great
Then it tends to fascinate

A tornado dropped a funnel cloud with twenty tons of rain
Though she had the attention span of warm cellophane
Her lovers fell like Skittles in a 10-pin bowling lane
But nothing could compare with the explosion of fame

So you jumped back with alarm
Every Elvis has his army
Every rattlesnake its charm
Can you still hear me?
Am I coming through just fine?
Your memory was buried in simple box of pine

(chorus):
Did her green eyes seduce you and make you get so weak?
Was there fire engine red that she left upon your cheek?
It's such a shame you had to break the heart you could have counted on
But the last thing you need is another episode of blonde

Revolving like a jeweller's figure on a music box
Spangled curtain parted and night-club scene unlocks
Pinned and fixed and fastened in a follow spot
Arms thrown out to everyone, she's giving all she's got
To the last gasp of a wounded bandeon
A tiny man imploring to the ceiling fan this stolen feeling
Amplified up through a busted speaker
Blaring, blasting, advertising, distorted beyond reason
Into the street where petty crime-coats shadow panic drunkards
Half out of the taxi-cab the barker seized my elbow
He thought I was another lonely, likely pilgrim looking for St. Telmo

(chorus)

I tried to keep a straight face but you know it never pays
He would stare into those eyes and then vacation in her gaze
She was a cute little ruin that he pulled out of the rubble
Now they're both living in a soft soap bubble

The film producer's contemplating, entertaining suicide
The picture crumpled in his fist, his runaway child bride
The timepiece stretched across his wrist
She couldn't care less cast aside
The scent that so repelled him that he swore: "insecticide"
And there's farewell note to mother
That will conclude "Your loving Son"
"Oh, tell your other children not to do as I have done"

Did her green eyes seduce you and make you get so weak?
Or was there fire engine red that she left upon your cheek?
It's such a shame
It's such a shame, shame, shame
A shame you had to break the heart you could have counted on
But the last thing you need
It's the last thing you want
Is another episode of blonde
It's another episode of blonde, oh oh oh
It's another episode of blonde

So an artist drags a toothbrush across the first thing that he sees
And names the painting "Christ's Last Exit into Purgatory"
Receiving secret messages from an alien intelligence
Paying off his stalker it's a legitimate expense
So paste up pictures of those shrill and hollow girls with puckered lips
She's a trophy on your arm, a magnet for your money clip
The moral of this story is a sorry tale to say
They're pieced with links of chains so they can never run away


Differences on My Flame Burns Blue version:

I spy for the "Spirit of Curiosity"
On every vain, mediocre monstrosity

Half out of the taxi-cab the barker seized my elbow
He said I was another lonely, likely victim looking for St. Telmo

That will conclude "Your loving Son"
"Oh, Mother tell your children not to do what I have done"

Episode Of Blonde
Written byElvis Costello
Performed byElvis Costello (& The Imposters)
Produced byThe Imposter: Elvis Costello, Ciaran Cahill, Leo Pearson & Kieran Lynch
Horn arrangementElvis Costello
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocals, DR-202, Magnatone Typhoon & Silvertone guitars
Steve Nieve - grand piano, Hammond organ
Davey Faragher - bass
Pete Thomas - drums
Ku-umba Frank Lacy - flugelhorn
Curtis Fowlkes - trombone
Jay Rodriguez - tenor saxophone
Roy Nathanson - alto saxophone
Recorded2001, Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin
Horns recorded September 24, 2001, Avatar Studios, New York
ReleasedApril 15, 2002
AlbumsWhen I Was Cruel, 2002
Length5:00

First known performance:
April 15, 2002, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Last known performance:
November 24, 2019, Madison, WI
     (87 known performances, 1 as a snippet)


Alternate versions

Peroxide Side (Blunt Cut)
Performed byElvis Costello
Produced byThe Imposter: Ciaran Cahill, Leo Pearson & Kieran Lynch
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2002
AlbumsCruel Smile, 2002
Singles45, 2002
Length3:48
NoteRemix of Episode Of Blonde.

Episode Of Blonde (Live 2004)
Performed byElvis Costello with The Metropole Orkest
Produced byGert-Jan van den Dolder
Arranged byVince Mendoza
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal
Steve Nieve - piano
The Metropole Orkest
Vince Mendoza - conductor
Ruud Breuls - trumpet solo
Peter Tiehuis - guitar solo
RecordedJuly 9, 2004, The Hague, Netherlands
ReleasedJanuary 13, 2006
AlbumsMy Flame Burns Blue, 2006
Length6:09

Episode Of Blonde (Live 2006)
Performed byElvis Costello
featuring The Imposters, Anthony "AB" Brown & The Crescent City Horns
Horn arrangementElvis Costello & Vince Mendoza (four-part reduction by Chris Walden)
MusiciansElvis Costello - vocal, guitar
Steve Nieve - piano
Davey Faragher - bass
Pete Thomas - drums
Anthony "AB" Brown - guitar
Amadee Castenell - saxophone
Brian "Breeze" Cayolle - saxophone
Joe "Foxx" Smith - trumpet
Sam "Big Sam" Williams - trombone
RecordedJuly 3, 2006, Montreal, QC, Canada
ReleasedDecember 5, 2006
VideosHot As A Pistol, Keen As A Blade, 2006
When I Was CruelWIWC album cover 400.jpg

45 single45 UK 7" single front sleeve.jpg

Cruel Smile2002 Cruel Smile Album small.jpg

My Flame Burns BlueMy Flame Burns Blue album cover.jpg

Hot As A Pistol, Keen As A BladeHot As A Pistol Keen As A Blade DVD cover.jpg

Covers

Erich Sellheim home studio production, sung in German 2021 YouTube

Internal links

External links